BANKING
Deutsche slashing bonuses
Deutsche Bank AG employees on Wednesday learned what bonuses they would receive, with many facing deep cuts and some bankers in New York and London receiving zero payouts, people with knowledge of the decisions said. Many of those who avoided large cuts to their rewards for last year did so because they had guaranteed payouts, such as recent hires, the people said. Some top performers received raises, the people said. The bank is to disclose the final size of its bonus pool on March 22, when it publishes its annual report.
SAUDI ARABIA
Islamic tax may be raised
Saudi Arabia is considering plans to increase an Islamic religious tax paid by local banks to as much as 20 percent, or double the current rate, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as the world’s biggest oil exporter seeks to bolster alternative sources of revenue. The tax authority is in talks with lenders about raising the levy, known as the zakat, potentially bringing it in line with the 20 percent rate paid by foreign banks in the kingdom, the people said. The talks are ongoing and the final rate could be lower, they said.
SMARTPHONES
Xiaomi focusing on 5G
5G is tech company Xiaomi Corp’s (小米) development priority, chairman Lei Jun (雷軍) said on the sidelines of China’s National People’s Congress in Beijing. The 5G network would become a driver of China’s economic growth, he said, with the company offering a 5G phone in May or June. His comments came as stock speculators catch on to Chinese 5G companies, with the optimism bolstering shares of Xiaomi and ZTE Corp (中興通訊).
TECHNOLOGY
Grab secures US$1.5bn
Singapore-headquartered ride-hailing firm Grab on Wednesday said that it has secured US$1.5 billion in fresh financing from a fund run by Japan’s Softbank Group Corp and would use a significant portion of it to expand in Indonesia. The fresh investment from the Vision Fund of Softbank brings the total financing secured by Grab over the past year to more than US$4.5 billion. Grab said a “significant portion” of the new investment would be used to grow its business in Indonesia, the home base of regional rival Go-Jek.
TELECOMS
MTN selling Botswana unit
MTN Group Ltd yesterday announced the disposal of its share in a Botswana joint venture as Africa’s biggest wireless carrier by revenue starts a drive to raise at least 15 billion rand (US$1.1 billion) from asset sales to strengthen its balance sheet. The company agreed to sell its 53 percent stake in Botswana’s Mascom to Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Ltd for US$300 million, the Johannesburg-based firm said. Its other businesses now on the market include e-commerce services.
GAMING
Nintendo unveils VR kit
Nintendo Co’s Switch hybrid is making its first foray into virtual-reality (VR) games. The Nintendo Labo VR kit lets gamers build a headset mostly out of cardboard so that they can slide in the device to create what the company calls “basic VR technology.” It is reminiscent of Google’s Cardboard, which was introduced almost five years ago. Priced at US$80, Nintendo’s VR kit includes an alien shooting title and an ocean swimming simulation. It goes on sale on April 12.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last